During the metal rolling process, spray bars are typically used to spray a coolant on the rollers or to dissipate the heat generated by rolling so that a proper operating temperature can be maintained. Depending upon the operating conditions, the amount of coolant required may vary. Spray bars have previously been developed as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,771,730, Nicoloff, et al, which depicts previous spray bar design. It was typically the objective of most prior spray bar designs to apply a uniform coolant spray flow area across the entire length of a roller. More recently, the advancements in computer controllers and the development of a continuous strip profile measurement devices, it was determined that many of the flatness variations in rolled sheet metal could be minimized by selectively applying varying amounts of coolant at various positions along the width of rollers which will selectively cool same.
The object of this invention is to provide a spray bar capable of providing a wide variety of liquid flow rates which can be varied both in overall rate and axially along the length of the spray bar assembly.
It is another object of the invention to provide a spray bar which is compact and has a minimum of external plumbing of coolant and control lines.
It is another object of the invention to provide a spray bar which has easily replaceable orifices and nozzle assemblies so that the spray bar can be maintained with minimum machine down-time.
A feature of the present invention is that a large number of individual nozzles having orifices of predetermined sizes can be provided in a relatively compact spray bar in order to precisely "meter" coolant flow.
An advantage of the present invention is that the entire spray bar assembly can be fabricated in a small compact leakproof unit which can withstand an occasional impact resulting from a wreck caused by the breakage of the metal strip.